The Shepherd of an All-Female Temple (3)
The two of them led Bark out of the temple and made for the eastern gate. The soldiers standing guard took one look at Vivian in her priestess robes, gave a casual bow of recognition, and waved them through without the slightest procedure.
Once beyond the city walls, a vast meadow opened up before them, a flock of sheep penned inside a wooden fence.
There were thirty in all, and Vivian turned every last one of them out of the fence to put Cloud's shepherding skills to the test.
"Alright, Bark! Drive them!"
No matter what orders Cloud gave, Bark showed zero intention of moving. He just lolled his tongue out right in front of Cloud's face and wagged his tail, as if to say he'd like more dried squid, please.
Meanwhile the flock was scattering every which way, and Vivian's gaze from beside him—arms crossed as she observed—felt positively scorching.
"It's only because it's our first day. Bark and the sheep aren't used to me yet, so they can't make out what I'm telling them. Once we've spent some time together and I've trained them, things will gradually improve."
He dressed it up in plausible-sounding words, and Vivian believed every one of them, nodding along.
"I suppose it's only natural, since you're all strangers to one another?"
After that, Vivian left the sheep in his charge and returned to the temple alone. She'd put him to work the very moment the contract was signed. And so Cloud was left standing on the vast meadow with one dog and thirty sheep.
Fumbling through the shepherding techniques his father had taught him as a boy, he did his earnest best to school Bark and tend the flock—then promptly gave up on the whole enterprise and flopped down in the grass. No matter what he tried, the beasts wouldn't listen. His temper fraying, he decided a short break was in order.
Fortunately, the sheep contented themselves with grazing leisurely nearby, and not one of them made a desperate bid for escape. Bark, too, seemed to have taken a liking to Cloud; the moment he lay down in the grass, the dog came darting over at full speed and set about licking his face.
"Hey, that's filthy. Get off. Get lost, I said."
Cloud shoved him away, but the dog couldn't have cared less, latching on again and licking away all the same. Out of options, Cloud sat up, gathered Bark into his arms, and scratched the scruff of his neck.
"Good grief, I hate touching dogs. They reek."
Complaints aside, he went right on holding Bark.
Cloud's gaze drifted out over the sprawling meadow. The wide, beautiful scenery punctured some of the stuffiness that had built up inside him in the city, and the easy, unhurried atmosphere let him breathe freely again.
It was in the middle of all this that some unexpected figures entered his field of view. People who looked to be senior priests of the temple were walking out through the city gate, seeing off Cecil and those same three cloak-wrapped strangers.
The three mysterious figures in green robes flipped their hoods back, as if to offer the priests a parting bow. And in that same instant, long ears standing perk toward the sky came sharply into Cloud's view.
The three strangers were female elves.
Still, that they were elves was hardly a shock. He'd never laid eyes on one in person, but elves were a race Cloud knew well enough by reputation. He'd heard that in big cities like the capital, elves living in close fellowship with humans were a common enough sight. They were hardly some vanishingly rare species.
If anything piqued his curiosity, it was simply whether their looks lived up to the rumors or not.
"Ah... too far away to see properly..."
They were at quite a distance, so while he could make out their general shapes, their features refused to resolve into any detail. The two flanking figures had white hair; only the one in the middle had blue. That was the extent of it. And with those green robes swallowing their silhouettes, he couldn't even render a verdict on their figures one way or the other.
"Should've bought them a round at the inn back then, if I'd known this would happen. Would've made some elf friends out of pure luck."
He was smacking his lips in disappointment when Cecil picked him out of the scenery.
"Cloooouuud!"
Cecil called his name and waved with a face full of delight.
When he threw his hand up and waved back with equal vigor, the elves walking beside her turned and favored him with a light nod as well.
From the look of it, the four of them were headed for the forest where the Witch was said to appear.
"Don't tell me Cecil's going with them? What's she planning to do if the Witch actually shows up?"
Just then, from within the city, the temple's bell tower tolled again and again—dong, dong—announcing the noon hour.
At the same moment, Cloud's stomach let out a growl. He'd skipped breakfast, after all. More than any worry about Cecil surrounded by those three seasoned-looking elves, what concerned him was his own empty belly and not a coin to his name.
Come to think of it, Vivian had never said a word about meals before he signed the contract. He had no idea whether the temple provided food or whether he was expected to buy his own. And it was all his own fault—his attention had been far too occupied with staring at her ass.
Left with no alternative, he resolved to go ask Vivian.
From that point on, Cloud's hands got very busy.
Having inwardly conceded that he possessed none of the shepherding skills his father had supposedly passed down, he chose to carry the thirty sheep into the pen one at a time rather than drive the whole lot in together. This went on for the better part of an hour. Only when everyone else had finished their midday meal and the hour had come for afternoon naps was he finally able to shut the last sheep inside the fence.
"Bark! Big brother's going to go fetch some food, so you stay here and guard the sheep like a good boy. Got it?"
Whether he understood or not, Bark answered with a single bark. "Woof!"
With Bark shut in the sheep pen, Cloud scurried off toward the city gate.
He passed through the gate without incident and went straight into the temple to look for Vivian. But even as he wiped the beads of sweat from his brow under the merciless midday sun and combed every corner of the temple grounds, she was nowhere to be found. He didn't even know where she usually stayed and worked.
In the end, he approached Priestess Monica, whom he happened upon outside, and asked her directly.
"Sister Vivian? She's most likely resting in her private study at the moment. This is the priestesses' hour of personal time, you see."
Priestess Monica answered with a warm smile—and then, in her kindness, guided him there herself. Following her through the stately, imposing corridor of the main hall, they arrived at the wing where the priestesses' private studies were lined up, and there he spotted a door bearing the nameplate Vivian Magdalena.
"May you have a pleasant time. And may the Goddess Yolonda's blessing be with you, always."
Priestess Monica lifted the hem of her robes ever so slightly, smiled at Cloud, and bade him farewell. Truly, what a kind priestess.
"Sister Vivian? Sister Viviaaan~."
Cloud knocked straight away. But no matter how long he waited, no answer came from within.
Left with no choice, he grasped the doorknob and turned it.
He opened the door and stepped inside to find a cramped room of barely seventy square feet, furnished with nothing but a desk, a chair, and a bookshelf.
And in that room, Vivian lay slumped over the desk, deep in the enjoyment of an afternoon nap. She slept with her enormous breasts squashed against the desktop. They were truly magnificent breasts—splendidly suited to serve as a bolster for napping.
"Sister Vivian?"
Worried she might startle, he called her name softly first.
"Sister Vivian? It's me, Cloud."
"Mmgh, mm... that's too much, mmm..."
"Are you awake? It's Cloud."
"Sex, you say? How could you, mmm..."
Vivian was talking in her sleep.
Cloud heaved a sigh, took her by the shoulders, shook, and shouted.
"Sister Vivian, wake up!"
Even after shaking her hard, she showed no sign of rising.
If anything, she stirred in her sleep and shifted her position.
"Mm, mmmh, mm..."
She leaned back against the chair, tilting her head toward the ceiling as if gazing up at it. Her breasts swayed along with the motion.
At the sight, Cloud clapped a hand over his mouth in astonishment. He offered silent praise unto the taut, springy outline of her breasts straining against her habit.
T-those are some magnificent tits. I want to touch them...!
In that instant, a streetcar named Desire sounded its departure bell with a bang! and took off at a dead sprint through his mind.
Ba-dump!
Ba-dump!
Ba-dump!
His heart trembled.
Somehow, a strange feeling. A very dangerous feeling.
Cloud's eyes stayed riveted on Vivian's sensual, luscious fruit.
But she was a pious priestess who held pleasure to be taboo.
And this was temple grounds.
He couldn't defile a priestess, and getting caught committing lewd acts inside the temple would be dangerous.
Exercising the utmost restraint, he hastily grabbed the reins of the runaway streetcar and hauled it to a stop.
He tried calling her again.
"Sister Viiiviaaan~ If you don't get up this instant, I'm going to suck your nipples riiiight up~."
"Cloud..."
"Gah! You're awake?"
"Nipples? Such vile language. Pray to God for forgiveness this instant."
"I-I'm sorry."
"God is always watching over us. Zzz... zzz..."
He'd thought she'd woken—turns out it was sleep-talk again.
Somehow feeling like he'd been played, Cloud flared up for no good reason.
Vivian was sunk in a sleep so deep she wouldn't stir even if he carried her off. Taking this for his golden opportunity, Cloud's eyes gleamed with lust.
He remembered her ass from their first meeting. That seductively wiggling backside. And now this voluptuous chest shimmering before his very eyes.
He wanted to suppress it if he could, but the vicious cells of desire were multiplying with tremendous vigor.
He could feel restraint slipping further out of reach by the second.
I want to touch them, I want to suck them, I want to touch them, I want to suck them, I want to touch them...!
His head was, at present, stuffed to bursting with temptation—a solid lump of torment.
An opportunity like this doesn't come around often. Am I right?
Vivian slept the picture of serenity, utterly oblivious, before a single beast of prey.
As long as I don't get caught...!
At last, unable to bear it any longer, he reached out his hand.
For a man of Cloud's character, holding out this long was already a feat of endurance.
"Mmm... mm..."
The moment he touched her breast, she stirred and shifted, but mercifully, she didn't wake.
Gathering his courage, he kneaded her breasts all the more boldly.
They're huge! The biggest I've ever seen on a woman! And above all, this full, soft give!